Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera

11.23.2008

some photos from Tacchino Ciclocross

some photos from Tacchino Ciclocrosssome photos and some words from Tacchino Ciclocross in Leesburg Virginia today

these shots are from the men's masters eliteI did not stick around for the Elite/Pro Men/Women

that race was a race of many storiesI meant to stay for a lap but I could not be pulled awaythe action unfolding in front of my eyes was too intense to turn away from

gunnar and betsy had some car troubles and arrived twenty minutes before the startif rushing to the pits to drop off your bike is considered a warm up and pre-ride than gunnar got his warm up and pre-ridethat is no warm up... that is no preridegunnar decided to try and warm up and pre-ride alone after the sound of the start of his race

gunnar pulled out fastthe pack moved fast behind himearly in the first lap gunnar pulled away from the packheading straight for the pitts to swap out his bike on what I remember to be his first lapseems that both the van and the bike could use the attention of a "real" mechanic

the pits were popular on the first lapC3 racers Chris Nystrom and Marc Vettori each started their race with mechanical issues which separated them from the main group significantly early onbut that did not keep C3 from racingKhris Auer was battling things out in the top ten fighting to climb his way to the frontNystrom and Vettori showed their spirit and each independently separate from the other simultanously climbed their way from the back of the packneither having the potential for a top finishwhile both of them were proving that they is more to racing than breaking the tape

I had raced with the Masters B earlier in the morning and had stayed along to watch Cargo Mike race with the the Killer Bsas much as I knew I had to get home with enough time gather with the family for a trip to see Cirque Du Soliel at the National Harbor I wanted to see my brother race a lap or two

at the first pass I was unable to cheer my brother onthe racers passed in a blur and I had scanned the pack for the black and red of the DCMTB-City Bikes squad having forgotten to look for my brother a white jersey with the markings of the Maryland State Championship

at the first sighting of my brother I was pleased to see he was at the front of the packthen early into the second lap I was estatic to find that my brother marc had also broken free of the group and was chasing gunnar's rear wheelI cheered and traversed the coursetrying to establish a few good perspectives to capture the moment with my trusty point and shootwhile trying to map a way to cheer on my brother from as many points as I could manage in the duration of a lapbecause I really did not feel like I had any more time to stay than a lap... or twoor two... maybe three

the course was wide opena long wide open course out in the middle of the country on a great big fieldnot quite the tight winding course of the urban setting that allows for spectators to catch the action from various vistas without much effort

the race was exciting from the first racer to the lastas racers passed I was able to witness the race within the racenot just the race to get to the front of the packbut the basic race to stay in front of the other without much concern for the action at the front

it was real racingeveryone was throwing it downeveryone was leaving it on the course

the game of cat and mouse unfolded in front of my eyesI marveled as so many pulled their way from the back towards the frontit amazed me to see that the intensity of the fight only incresed after lap oneno one was settling inno one was accepting their positionnothing was to be decided until the final lap was completed

I cheered for many more racers than just my brotherI cheered for good playI cheered for inspirational spirit

every rider in the race has a story to tellsome of them I was able to witness

the battle for the podium was an exciting story that unfolded with some exciting plot twists

Gunnar's dominance for the majority of the race was impressiveI was stoked to see my brother matching gunnar's attacks on the corners and the climbs for so many of these lapseven when there was a change in command and my brother slipped back to a solitary spot of fourth his pace was still pretty much on target with leaders Kris and Gunnar

Kris and Gunnar battled out the last lap exchanging leads and exchanging attacks with Kris winning out in the endmy brother crossed the finishiline moving strong and steady holding onto fourth place not far behind Radny Root who was not far behind Auer and Shogren

when my brother crossed the line I put my camera in my pocket and started the movement towards homelocated cargo mikesaid a few good byesgot in the car and headed for home

got home with plenty of time to hang out with the family and travel out to The National Harbor with enough time to have the kids climb on The Awakening at its new home seven miles down river from Haines Point

it is late... gotta crashmay re-read this tomorrowor maybe I will just write an alternate perspective that invloves my race and my experiences of the day

6 comments:

Gunnar won! Auer and Nystrum took each other out on the first mud of the first lap. There was a 2nd pile up on the first steep uphills. Auer had to ride real hard to get back up to Gunnar, so an impressive ride for him. Vettori's blog said he had trouble early on with his chain watcher. Gunnar also pitted with a flat. A lot of drama in that race!

It was pretty exciting to be able to keep close to Gunnar, at least for a couple laps!

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